The present disclosure relates to data storage devices. In particular, the present disclosure relates to assemblies and techniques for restoring protective coatings on storage media and transducing heads.
Data storage devices, such as disk drives, typically store information on surfaces of storage media, such as magnetic or optical disks. In a typical disk drive, one or more disks are mounted together on a spindle motor. The spindle causes the disk(s) to spin and the data surfaces of the disk(s) to pass under respective bearing sliders. A transducing head carried by a slider is used to read from and write to a data track on a disk. The slider is typically carried by a head arm assembly that includes an actuator arm and a suspension assembly, which can include a separate gimbal structure or can integrally form a gimbal. During operation, as the disk spins, the slider glides above the surface of the disk on a small cushion of air, and the actuator arm pivots to movably position the slider with respect to the disk.
For consistency and predictability, it is desirable to maintain each transducing head as close to its associated recording surface as possible (i.e., to minimize the head/media spacing). The bearing surfaces of the disk and the transducing head each typically include an overcoat to provide protection against wear and corrosion. Excessive wear of the protective overcoat increases friction between the head and disk, which may potentially result in a drive failure. Furthermore, in accordance with conventional practices, a lubricant topcoat may be applied over the protective overcoat to prevent wear between the disk and head interface during drive operation. However, the use of the protective overcoats and the lubricant topcoats increase the head/media spacing, which may affect the areal density capabilities of the data storage device. Furthermore, over extended periods of use, the lubricant topcoats and the protective overcoats may be eroded, thereby exposing the underlying bearing surfaces of the storage media and the transducing head.